Schlagwort-Archive: wadi rum

Jordan, World Trip 2018-19

Jordan – Summary & Pictures

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People: There’s not a lot of backpackers, but there’s also not a lot of hostels – hence you meet again and again. I was lucky to meet some really cool people to travel with while in Jordan, and rarely spent time by myself. As for locals – sorry Israel, but Jordan wins. Miles ahead. I was so happy that people finally seemed happy again to see me as a tourist. My first day in Amman was filled with a constant „welcome to Jordan“ and kids wanting to take selfies with me. However, I also got lots of attention from the guys – never in an annoying or intimidating way, but it did get a bit exhausting sometimes. Women with low self-esteem: go to Jordan!

Food: Falafel, hummus and other „dips“. In the beginning I liked it, but did get a bit sick of it in the end. That’s when the buffet in Wadi Rum came in handy! I started missing fresh fruits and veggi- onees prepared in a way other than mashed into a dip. My favourite was yet again knafeh – I stuffed myself with the cheesy deliciousness in Amman! Not as good as in Nablus, but still really really tasty.

Weather: Apart from the one grey day in Petra, it was sunny and almost too hot all along.

Costs: At 50€/day I managed to stay below my 60€ target, but surprisingly spent more than in Israel, even though I would consider Jordan cheaper. Why is that? First, I did not find any female Couchsurfing hosts and did not want to stay with guys in a Muslim country. Also, the hostels were cheap but didn’t have shared kitchens so I had to eat out. Lastly, the cost of the Jordan Pass, while well worth it, also impacted my budget.

Accommodation: I only stayed at two different hostels – one costing 7€/night and the other one 5€/night. The first one was ok, the other barely bearable. The things you do to save money!

Infrastructure: I used busses and taxis (sometimes shared). There’s no trains. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of public transport in Jordan, so many places are difficult or impossible to get to without a rental car.

Illnesses: All good once again!

Safety: Felt very safe and welcome.

Itinerary: I basically did (almost) all I could on public transport. I would have loved to hike Wadi Mujib, Dana nature reserve and maybe see some of the desert castles but that simply wasn’t possible without renting a car. Amman (incl. day trips) – Petra – Wadi Rum is the standard backpacker route. Some add Aqaba but it didn’t sound appealing to me.

Highlight: Petra, no question.

Lowlight: Madaba.

Click here to see all my pictures of Jordan:

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Me in front of the Treasury
Jordan, World Trip 2018-19

Moon or Mars? Touring Wadi Rum’s desert landscapes

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As my last stop in Jordan, I had always had the plan of visiting Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is a rocky desert landscape in the South of Jordan. There are no roads and only bedouin camps, so you have to go on an organized tour. My hostel in Wadi Musa/Petra had a very tempting cheap offer so that I booked the tour directly with them. It ended up being ok for what I paid: the camp was nice and clean, dinner was plentiful and delicious and the 3 h jeep tour – while not taking as long as some other jeep tours – took us to many amazing spots.

I left Petra early in the morning together with some other people from my hostel and we arrived at the bedouin camp in the late morning. Since our jeep tour was scheduled for the late afternoon only, we had lots of free time to chill, have lunch and go for a first walk in the desert. We found a cool viewpoint from which we could see the white desert in the distance and take some nice photos.

But the highlight of my stay in Wadi Rum was of course the tour itself. We set in the back of an open pickup truck and cruised through the breathtaking landscapes. As mentioned, we stopped at some cool sites such as nice viewpoints, a canyon and two rock bridges – but drive itself was already really, really cool!!

At night, after our dinner buffet, we got the choice between sleeping in the bedouin tents of the camp or outside under the stars. Well, what do you think I chose!? 🙂 Our guide took us a bit away from the camp next to a big rock where he made a camp fire and we put down our mattresses and blankets. I actually slept quite well – although I did get a bit chilly around my head and wished I had brought my woolen hat.

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It was a short night since we needed to wake up early for some transfers of other guests. And after some breakfast in the camp, it was time for me to leave as well. Not just the camp or Wadi Musa, but Jordan. It was a long travel day: shared taxi to Aqaba, Jett bus to Amman, taxi to the airport, flight to Beirut, taxi to the hostel. Backpacker life! Jordan, you’ve been good to me and maybe I’ll return one day with a rental car to visit the places I missed out on now…